1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a small article accommodating unit for a vehicle, and more particularly to a small article accommodating unit for a vehicle having a cover which can be opened upwards with one touch of a finger, capable of holding beverage containers, such as cans, cartons, cups or bottles, and capable of preventing looseness of the opened cover due to vibrations or the like of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known related technology about a small article accommodating unit for a vehicle of the foregoing type, the small article accommodating unit comprising a hollow box having an opening thereto, a cover rotatively supported by the box and arranged to open or close the opened top of the box, a locking means which locks the cover at its closed position and which is capable of releasing the locking state when the cover has been pressed inwards from the closed position, and a limiting means for limiting the maximum position to which the cover can be opened (refer to, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-65687).
However, the foregoing conventional small article accommodating unit for a vehicle encounters a problem that the cover is vibrated and loosens due to vibrations, or the like, of the vehicle in a state where the cover is opened, and, therefore, the comfortableness for a passenger in the vehicle deteriorates during the drive.
Another related technology about the small article accommodating unit for a vehicle has been known which comprises a hollow box having an open top, a cover pivotally supported by the box and arranged to open or close the top of the box, and a cup holder for holding cups, or the like, exemplified by cups, cans and bottles in the hollow space in the boxes, the box being opened by the hand at the time of use to insert the cups, or the like, to be held by the cup holder in the box (refer to, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 60-21299).
However, the foregoing small article accommodating unit for a vehicle has a problem that the unit cannot easily be used because the cover must be opened by the hand whenever it is used.